Avengers: Infinity War

I thoroughly enjoyed Avengers: Infinity War while I was watching it, but walked away feeling unsatisfied.  My first draft digressed into a fanboy rant focused on how commercialism has stripped all weight of death from the Marvel universe.  Disney might be willing to sacrifice one superhero in the name of art, but wiping out (spoiler alert) half the superhero population is laughable in its transience.  Thanos might have well just shot the Avengers with a paintball gun; their vaporization will be reversed with the stroke of a pen.  Alright, so the fanboy rant survived to the final draft (there were only two after all).  Avengers: Infinity War was enjoyable because anything could happen.  The universe is the Avenger's playground, you never know where they're going to be next, or who they'll run into.  Even the psychopathic villain who is hell-bent on committing genocide is somehow likable because the special effects by which he is rendered are so amazing.  Yet every character is a slave to the plot, which wouldn't be so bad if the plot were any good.  Doctor Strange seems to have a plan, but I have a sneaking suspicion that he's in collusion with the Disney executives to keep the sequels coming.  Here's the weird thing, I'm looking forward to the next movie (and the one after that), but I'm not necessarily looking forward to the drive home from the theater.

A Star is Born

It's fortuitous that A Star Is Born comes alphabetically just before Avengers: Infinity War, because it gives me the opportunity to examine the shallow end of the pool.  I'll start with this, my review of A Star is Born: 

I have to hand it to Bradley Cooper, the director of, and leading man in A Star is Born; he almost had me convinced that his movie had depth.  Some of the most entertaining movies keep you questioning their value up until the final moments, when the significance of everything preceding it is revealed.  Bradley Cooper made the opposite movie.  I was moved during a scene early in the movie when Bradley Cooper playing a veteran rock star invites his new girlfriend (played by Lady Gaga) onstage to perform a duet.  This scene was moving because Cooper (as a director and an actor) had effectively established each character as sympathetic, and only teased us with their singing ability.  Together they were far better then apart.  If that was the message of the movie, I would have quickly forgiven the cliché, but that's not what this movie is about, it's just the setup.  And believe you me, I'm ok with a depressing movie from time to time, but at least have the decency to own your pessimistic world view...  A Star is Born is a movie about a man with no depth who tries to teach the importance of being true to yourself, whose student has no depth and doesn't get the lesson.  Perhaps there's some irony to be found, but not enough to be worth looking for. 

The moment I previously described from early in the movie when Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga sang together was great, and it was followed by other scenes showcasing their amazing talent.  It's too bad that a certain AA counselor didn't pick up on Cooper's foreshadowing during a speech towards the end of the second act... and he was laying it on pretty thick.  And that's why you should always listen when a rock star is telling you a tragic story from his childhood.

A Quiet Place

I have seen A Quiet Place twice now, which should be sufficient testimony of the film's worth.  I first watched the film because I found the trailer to be intriguing, I was hoping that the necessity for silence would be more than a gimmick, and I was pleased to find that "a quiet place" has a much deeper meaning than the trailer implied.  I was captivated by the complex relationships that were explored in such an interesting and thoughtful way.  I watched the film a second time because the first viewing was a surprisingly uplifting experience. 

A Quiet Place isn't a perfect movie; it follows certain rules of the genre that require the viewer to suspend in-depth logical analysis.  My primary criticism would be with its creatures, while much could be said for the artistic creativity in their production, overall their visual representation was anti-climactic; an unseen terror is far more effective. 

Criticisms aside, A Quiet Place has on of the best "silence breaking moments" in recent history.  I'm referring to a wonderful moment where two characters share one pair of earbuds.  What are your favorite moments like this from other films?